The Phoenix and the Dragon
by sablefalls
Summary: Azula's dead but she's not gone.


_**Sorry for the long absence but I have been busy with work and school. I did manage to churn out this one shot.**_

oooo

The sun is rising and Zuko can feel it heating the fire in his veins. Soon his day will start and he couldn't be dreading it more. Rolling over in bed he blindly reaches out beside him where Mai usually lies. The cold sheets soon have his eyes struggling to open. He does not expect the frosty gold that stares back at him.

"Good morning, Dum Dum."

Since the war his reflexes have only become more honed and he is quickly recoiling out of bed and onto his feet. Azula doesn't even blink at the sudden flames flaring at his fists.

"Still overcompensating I see." She comments dryly but doesn't move from her place on his bed.

Zuko sputters as he looks her over: every hair is perfect. Her skin is smooth porcelain. Azula lies on her side, head propped up on one hand. Her smile is ice. The dress is tight, clingy and too low cut to be anything Azula would have ever owned. The sun's rays dance off the copper fabric and Zuko realizes the dress is made of small metal scales. Definitely not something Azula would have owned.

It must be the stress or the lack of sleep. He must be having a psychotic break.

"You're not crazy, Zuzu." She purrs as she rises to sit on the bed. Her lithe legs tuck under her but pale thighs peek through the slits in the sides of the skirt.

"You're dead." His voice is hoarse with exhaustion but colored with confusion. Azula didn't survive the Agni Kai. Zuko remembers the blackened corpse, the horror in Katara's eyes and the smell of burnt flesh. Her death was woven into the legend of his fight for the crown and the Avatar's ending of the century long war.

Azula is dead; Zuko is sure of it.

"Maybe I just missed you." She tilts her head and smirks, the gesture causing her long hair to fall aside in a sable curtain of silk exposing the slender column of her neck.

"Your aim was improving." He quips back out of habit before tearing his eyes away.

Her laugh is rich and full. "Oh, Zuzu! You grew a sense of humor!"

He would be lying if he said the sound was unpleasant. Forcing himself to focus, he glares at her. "Shouldn't you be in the Spirit world?"

She arches an elegant eyebrow. "Who says?"

The glint in her eye sets him on edge.

"You're dead." He repeats quietly.

"Maybe, maybe not." The glint fades and the eyes turn cold again. "But I still missed you, brother."

The part of Zuko that always thought family was important feels warm at the sentiment but his heart stills at the sudden chill in the room. A knock at the door breaks the spell and Zuko's head jolts at the sound. When he looks back, the bed is empty and part of Zuko feels more alone than before.

Oooo

Mai's skin is warm but not searing. Zuko burns hot enough for the both of them and usually it isn't a problem. She makes a small noise when his lips latch onto her neck sucking gently but the taste of her skin turns bitter against his tongue.

Her eyes blink unfocused with lust as he pulls away. "What's wrong?"

Zuko shakes his head. "I…" He briefly glances, taking in her disheveled state. The robe hangs half off her shoulder revealing pale skin and the swell of one breast. Her hair is mussed and her lips pink with kisses. Mai is beautiful but Zuko isn't feeling it tonight. "I just remembered I have some work to do."

Her grey eyes harden. "It's the middle of the night!" Mai is never one to yell but her voice does take a decided edge to it.

"I know but I have an early meeting and I have to get it done before then." He makes his apologies even as he is turning away and slipping out of bed.

She sits on the bed, mouth agape with shock as she watches him pull on his own robe. He hears the huff of frustration behind him and the quick padding of feet as she crosses the room to the bathroom. The slamming of the door is loud in the silence of the room.

Zuko doesn't wait for her to come back out.

Oooo

Seeing Azula had to be a product of exhaustion, maybe some guilt. She was after all his little sister even if she was a homicidal sociopath intent on killing him and dominating the world. He hadn't meant to strike her with her own lightning and some small prideful part of him treasures the look of shock on her face as he channeled the bolt back at her. It was the last thing Azula had expected and it had sealed Zuko's victory once and for all.

"You shouldn't lie to the poor girl." Zuko quickly turns searching her out. The giant hallway is dark and empty. "Just tell her the truth that she doesn't _do it_ for you anymore."

Feeling foolish, he scowls and sets back on his path to his office. He isn't arguing with his guilty conscience.

Azula is leaning against his office door still wearing the same dress, arms tucked behind her back. She almost looks demure, inviting. It's the same look courtesans have flashed his way multiple times and each time he ignores it. He reaches for the handle of the door which happens to be right by her hip. The air is cold around her.

"You're not real." He whispers watching the way her head lazily turns upwards to his.

Her lips are plump and glistening in the low light of the torches and he catches himself staring as they whisper back, "I'm real enough, Zuzu."

Oooo

He's losing his mind. There is no other way around it. Either that or he is actually being haunted by his dead sister, his psychotic dead sister. It can be the only explanation for the way she hovers over him every minute. The worst part is that hallucinations or specters or whatever she is don't need rest. She doesn't sleep. She is just there..all the time. It's really affecting his work, his life, his everything.

Mai's hands slam on the desk in front of him. In his frazzled state he literally jumps. He hears the disapproving hum in his ear.

"Are you cheating on me?" Mai demands with a cold glint in her eye. Fury pours off her in waves, which is really impressive considering he has to check her pulse sometimes to be sure she's still alive.

"What?" Zuko asks dumbly.

The cackle of ghostly laughter grates on his nerves.

Mai scowls. "Are you cheating on me?" Each word is bitten out clearly.

From the corner of his eye he sees the shift of copper as Azula perches on the arm of his chair. "She must really love you, Zuzu. She asked before stabbing. How polite!"

"No." It's all he trusts himself to say.

A flicker of annoyance flashes in Mai's eyes. "Then what is the problem?"

The weight of the Zuko's world comes crashing down and he explodes in the sort of anger that was so characteristic of his younger years. "Problem?" He snaps as he stands, his own hands slamming on the desk between them. "I have a nation to run and a world to fix. And you think I have time to cheat on you?"

Mai straightens up, pulling her hands back, cold façade falling into place. "You had a nation to run and a world to fix before but for days you've been…different." She grasps for the final word, an imperceptible shrug in her shoulders.

"She has a point, Zuzu. Maybe you're off your game." Azula's warm voice snickers behind him.

He casually throws a glare to the apparition still seated on the arm of his chair. Mai follows his gaze but frowns at the empty space.

"What are you looking at?"

He's not ready to discuss his mental break with anyone even Mai so he takes a deep breath and walks around the desk. Gently he reaches out and takes her hands in his. Surprisingly she lets him.

Lightly he runs his fingers of the back of her hands as he stares at the ring on her finger. "Mai," He starts but isn't quite sure where he wants to go with this. From the corner of his eye he sees Azula slide into the chair and prop her feet on his desk delicately crossing them at the ankles. The action catches his attention not only for the smirk but also for the way the dress falls down showing a long line of leg.

Mai looks from him to the chair. "Zuko?"

His name snaps him out of his trance and he meets her eyes again. "Mai, I can't give you what you need or even what you want."

Her eyes widen at his words. "What are you saying?"

"I love you, I really do but I don't think I can make you happy." Zuko is proud of himself for how carefully he chooses his words.

Azula snorts. "My heart is breaking here. Hurry it along will you?"

He refuses to glare at the mocking taunt and stays focused on Mai instead. She has to see. She has to understand that he can't be the man she wants him to be. Before it is over, Mai leaves in tears.

Oooo

"He's lying to you, Zuko." Azula's voice is low with fascination as she bent closer the seated man. "I can see it in his eyes." Her lips twist in a smile. "He thinks he's going to get away with it."

Zuko doesn't comment from where he sits at the head of the table full of advisors. He maintains the impassive face of royalty though his eyes warily watch his sister as she slides around and perches herself on the table's edge. Leaning back on her hands she crosses her legs. The flash of bare thigh shows through the split in the ethereal material of the skirt she insists on wearing. If she weren't a ghost, the man before her would be getting an eyeful of the royal treasury.

"I can smell the fear on him, Zuzu." She leans forward from her perch almost in the man's face as she makes a show of sniffing the air around him. "His heart is pounding!" The sheer delight in her voice makes Zuko shiver despite the heat in the room. Turning her head she beams a bright smile as she declares mirthfully. "You _must_ make an example of him."

Zuko drops his eyes to the table before him. Looking at her ghost for too long always gives him a headache like he's trying to look through a strong magnifying lens. He hears the rustle of fabric as she rolls onto her stomach on the table and props her head on her hands in a pose reminiscent of Toph.

"Now is not the time to be skittish." She admonishes teasingly. The men around the table watch quietly while the Fire Lord has an imaginary conversation with what he is sure is a hallucination. Huffing at his silence, she rises up onto her hands and knees and slowly crawls down the table towards him. It nearly causes him to panic and he feels his heart speed up. The look in her eyes is purely predatory and the metallic scales of her dress scrape along the surface as she draws closer.

Azula stops right in front of him, eyes level with his. Wisps of her hair fall around her face framing it and she smirks as she speaks. "They must see just how big and strong you are, Zuzu." If she had breath it would be whispering across his lips.

He forces himself to stand with something resembling regal authority. Azula stays where she is on her hands and knees on the table before him but tilts her head to look up at him. The effect is entirely too distracting so he tears his eyes away from the image to glare at the man.

"It is illegal to lie to the Fire Lord." Zuko is proud of how calm his voice sounds, even when he sees from the corner of his eye how Azula's tongue snakes out to wet her pink shell lips.

Naturally the man protests, eyes wide, mouth agape, but Zuko can see what Azula sees in his reaction. The fear is tangible. Without acknowledging the man's outburst, he nods to the guards who quickly pull the protesting man from the room.

Zuko levels a glare at the remaining lords. "Dismissed."

Quietly and without preamble they hurry from the room, eager to be away from a vengeful Fire Lord. Once the final man is gone and the door closed behind him, Zuko allows a glance at the sister still kneeling before him.

"What a good little prince you are. Father would be proud."

Azula always did lie.

Oooo

In the dungeon Azula takes up the role of teacher. At her behest he dismisses the interrogators because _a good Fire Lord handles the big fish himself._

Soon they are alone with a trembling naked man strapped to a large upright table and Azula steps up behind Zuko so close he can feel the press of her against him. His delusions must really be getting worse if he can _feel_ her now.

"Undress." She whispers in his ear. He glares from the corner of his eye so she adds, "You don't want to ruin that pretty robe."

She's right, of course she's right. Leave it to Azula to be dead and still know better than him. Turning away from the man he begins to unwrap the heavy intricate robe. Azula stands before him with her head tilted just so, smiling in approval once he is down to just a shirt and pants.

"Just do what I say and it will be okay." Zuko is skeptical and she rolls her eyes. "Father taught me everything. He would have taught you too if you weren't too busy being all righteous." Her eyes harden. "Now, Zuko."

Oooo

Torture it turns out is easier than he thought or maybe he is sicker than he thought. The sadistic glee in Azula's eyes is addictive and he finds he wants to please her. It's almost a compulsion, a very sick twisted compulsion.

Once the man has given up his secrets and confessed some interesting wrongdoings, Zuko finds himself at a loss as what to do next. The quiet still way he stares at the man only adds to the intimidation the victim feels and he can see the pulse point on the man's throat, already dripping with blood, speed up.

Azula's arms wrap around him and her lips graze his ear. "Kill him. He's of no use to us anymore, brother." The kiss she places on the back of his neck is nearly glacial and he can feel its chill long after the man's head finishes rolling on the dungeon floor.

As always Azula is right.

Oooo

The nights are the strangest for Zuko. During the day he watches as Azula weaves her way around various people. The crowd can be distracting and allow him some reprieve from his sister's demands for attention. Nightmares always look worse in the dark he supposes.

He lies in bed and tries to ignore the lithe movements as she twists and turns in the moonlight pouring through the balcony windows. Her heels make quiet clicks on the stone floor and the metallic edges of her dress slice through the air.

"Are you dancing?" His voice comes out hoarser than he would like.

Azula laughs as she spins on one foot, fanning her arms to her side. The fabric of her dress follows her movement spinning outwards like copper wings.

"Father insisted I learn." She answers breathlessly and Zuko doesn't want to linger on why a spirit would need air. Instead he becomes mesmerized by the arch of her back and the twist of her hips.

"Why would the Crown Princess need to know how to dance?" It is unfathomable why Ozai would have ever insisted on something so absurd. Dancing was for consorts or concubines. Azula would have been neither.

With another spin, her heels snap hard on the stone floor and the skirt of her dress flares out showing far more of her outstretched leg then he is sure is proper. She tosses a look over her shoulder at him, the glow of her golden eyes as entrancing as ever.

"Men are simple creatures, Zuko. Even a queen has to convince her king and what better way than with her hips." Slowly she rolls said hips and spins to face him. He can tell from the look on her face that there is a lesson to be learned.

He swallows thickly. "I would think if someone wouldn't do what you wanted that you would just kill them and do it yourself."

She smirks and slowly closes the distance between them. The soft click of her heels echoes ominously in the large room. "You know me so well, Zuzu." She purrs as she reaches the end of the bed and crawls onto it without missing a beat.

He resists the urge to pull away from her when she comes closer. The bed dips with her weight and the rational part of his mind knows that can't be happening. It just can't be, even when the solid feel of her thighs straddle his legs and she leans forward grasping the headboard behind him.

"Father didn't know me, not really." She whispers as she sinks her weight onto his lap. Every muscle tenses as she gently folds her body over his, lying on top of him. The soft scrape of her nails marks the wood as her hands come to rest beside his head. Azula is nose to nose with him and Zuko struggles to breathe normally. "It was always you, Zuko. I could always count on you, couldn't I?"

Azula was never the little sister he wanted.

Oooo

Katara visits. Blue eyes are awash with concern as she studies him carefully. Mai must have contacted her.

"Are you sleeping well?" She inquires in that gentle tone of hers.

Zuko isn't. How can he sleep when Azula won't let him?

"I'm fine." He answers curtly. He's growing tired of people questioning him.

The Water Bender nods but he knows her well enough to see she doesn't believe him. She won't press the issue, not now at least.

Water is patient.

Fire is not.

"Oh just fuck her already!" Azula yells from across the room near the window. The sound startles him and he glares at his dead sibling.

"Are you okay?" Katara looks towards the window suddenly alarmed. She has every right to be as assassination attempts are a common occurrence for Zuko. Seeing nothing untoward, Katara turns questioning eyes back to him.

"I'm fine." He mutters looking away.

"You are not fine." Azula hisses. "You've been eyefucking her since she arrived. Just throw her down and take her!"

Internally he winces at the vulgarity.

"I'm worried about you, Zuko." Katara says soothingly, resting a hand across his arm where it lies on the chair. "We all are."

"Oh, Zuko, she's worried about you. Maybe you can get pity sex out of it."

Zuko fixes his eyes on contrast of mocha skin against his pale arm and not on the venomous outburst.

Gently he covers Katara's hand with his own and meets her blue eyes. "I'm fine, really, but I'm glad you came to visit finally."

He hears the growl of frustration and the angry click of heels receding in the distance. He doesn't question why this is the one time that Azula has left him alone in months but it's both welcome and terrifying.

Trying to not dwell on her sudden departure, he inquires instead about the Southern Water Tribe. If Katara notices what he is doing, she ignores it and happily speaks of the rebuilding.

Azula's absence hurts more than Zuko wants to admit.

Oooo

She doesn't return to him. Azula is sulking but do hallucinations really sulk? It must be Zuko's own guilty conscience punishing him again. For a brief moment he panics wondering if Azula were really a spirit that maybe she would lash out at Katara. The princess had certainly never had any love for the Water Bender and after her display earlier she could very well do something very Azula and attack when least expected.

"You were always too stupid." The low dulcet tones of her voice seethe with anger.

A part of him relaxes at the familiar voice but the rest of him tenses at the all too known hate. He looks to the door of the balcony where she stands in silloute against the moon's light.

"You have carried a torch for her for years and did nothing. You stood by and let her marry someone else but you still lust after her. She's right here under your own roof and you still do nothing. "Azula huffs. "Just stupid."

Zuko grits his teeth. "She's married to my best friend. They're happy."

She scoffs but doesn't move from her place. "They aren't happy. They're miserable and she isn't just here to check up on you. She had to get away."

Zuko goes quiet at this news. Some dark part of him, most likely the part that this psychotic break is coming from, considers the possibilities.

"They have children." It's a sad and true thing. He won't interfere with a family. He won't hurt the people he loves the most for selfish reasons.

"Always so noble." Azula's voice reflects the sadness in his thoughts. "You always sacrifice to make others happy." Suddenly she is closer and he can feel the sharp tips of her nails card through his hair, gently scratching his scalp. He eyes flutter shut at the sensation. "My brave prince always doing what is honorable."

Zuko leans into her touch as the bed settles with her weight when she sits beside him. Gently she pulls him toward her so his head rests in her lap where she pets him to sleep. It is uncharacteristically tender and almost motherly of her to grant him such rest.

Azula always surprises him.

Oooo

He faces the next day feeling more himself than he has since Mai left. A good night's sleep does wonders it would seem. Court goes smoothly and the petitioners feel more at ease with a Fire Lord that scowls less.

Katara joins him for lunch. Azula doesn't.

He tries to ignore the ache it leaves in his chest and focuses on his friend. They both artfully avoid the topic of the Avatar. Instead she fills him in on Sokka and Toph, and the building of the New Republic. He wants to ask but he thinks he doesn't want to know, not really.

As always with Katara they never run out of things to talk about. Around her, Zuko can just relax and be himself. Afternoon turns into evening and tea turns into wine. His rooms are quiet as she empties the last of the bottle into her glass and giggles when she drinks it dry.

Suddenly she is pressed into him, eyes hooded and heavy. Her lips are as warm as he always imagined they would be. It's everything he wished for during the war and now it's within his grasp. Some distant part of his mind reminds him that she belongs to another but when the Water Bender's hands slip beneath the fabric of his shirt and splay on the waistband of his pants, the voice falls silent.

Zuko never did think things through.

Oooo

The next morning Zuko wakes with the sun. The body next to him is warm but smells like the Arctic ice. He opens his eyes frowning at the scent. The scrape of copper scales on the stone floor draws his attention away from the Water Bender in his bed to the bemused specter beside it. He scowls at the smirk playing on her lips.

"It's a shame you didn't show that sort of initiative during the war. This might have turned out better."Zuko bites his tongue. He does not want to wake Katara with an argument with his fictitious sister. As if sensing his thoughts, Azula rolls her eyes in reply. "Meaning you might have lived and not damned the Fire Nation to a future of tea and cake." The copper dress flares out as she turns on her heel and walks through the open doors of his sitting room.

Hastily, Zuko throws on a robe and follows, closing the doors firmly behind him. "What are you talking about?"

Azula has perched herself on the edge of the table centered in the room. Slowly crossing her legs, she eyes him with an unfamiliar stare. "He's a fully realized Avatar now. You don't stand a chance against him." She smirks again. "He may preach peace and harmony but how long do you think that will hold out when he finds out you fucked his wife?"

In the haze of wine and lust the night before, the thought had crossed his mind but not enough to convince him to stop.

"You encouraged me." He grasps for words. Azula cajoled, mocked, flat out screamed at him to bed Katara. "Why would you do that?" Azula never acts without reason.

The air in the room turns to ice with her smile. "Maybe I wanted company. The afterlife is so boring without you, Brother." Zuko's mouth is dry and he swallows against the feeling. He doesn't look away from Azula. He knows better than that now. She shrugs as she leans forward from her perch on the table, clawed nails digging into the edge of the wood. "Since you didn't bother doing your royal duty and giving our nation an heir, Uncle takes the throne and reclaims his rightful place as Fire Lord."

The words coming out of Azula's mouth are incomprehensible. "Why would you want that?"

She laughs with a wave of her hand. "Who says I wanted it but it's what is going to happen once the Avatar kills you."

Zuko takes a moment to really think about the consequences of his actions. White glowing light is all he sees. So lost in his thoughts he doesn't realize Azula has moved and is standing right in front of him until her cold hands grip his face turning him to look at her.

"I don't like seeing you so upset." She whispers against his jawline. "I will help you but you have to help me first, Brother." The feeling of something warm and sharp wraps around him. Light touches, like feathers, brush his skin.

He pulls back enough to stare down at her, incredulous at her offer. "You're manipulating me."

For a long heartbeat, Azula eyes him: a mask of coldness slipping over her face and an almost eerie look in her eye. "I only do what is necessary, Zuko, just like I've always done."

Azula's truths are uglier than her lies.

Oooo

Word of the white bison doesn't bring with it the same sort of relief it usually does. Still, Zuko does what he knows is right and is there to greet Appa when he lands. The bison snorts in greeting. The bison's rider wears a somber expression as he lands several feet away.

"Zuko." Aang nods solemnly.

"Aang." Zuko returns evenly.

The two men stare at one another. Zuko isn't sure where to even begin. Aang breaks the silence first.

"I've come to see Katara."

Zuko clenches his jaw at the mention of the woman that has been avoiding him for days after waking up in his bed. "I don't think she wants to see you just yet."

The air grows tense and heavy around him and Zuko braces himself.

"I need to speak with her."

At this point Zuko isn't sure if he is protecting Katara or himself. "We need to talk, Aang."

Aang's stare turns into a glower and Zuko is reminded of just how dangerous the younger man is. "Yes, we do but I should speak with my wife first."

Zuko blinks at this.

"He knows, Zuko." Azula whispers from behind him. "You don't need to talk about it, unless you want to compare experiences, that is."

Zuko closes his eyes, feeling suddenly sick to his stomach. "Let me help you, Zuko." Her arms slip around his waist as she presses against his back. Her lips graze the back of his neck as she mouths the words. "Trust me and maybe, just maybe, you can survive this."

It will be later that night when Zuko sleeps that he dreams of Azula with wings the color of the sun wrapped tight around him, holding him to her. Her lips whisper the same dark promises in his ear.

Azula has him right where she wants him.

Ooo

Katara doesn't want to see her husband and the chill falls like a blanket of snow over the palace. Zuko is sulking in his rooms when Aang arrives. The Avatar takes a seat opposite the Fire Lord but neither man speaks. Zuko only pours another glass and holds it out. The weight of the drink leaves his hands and the Air Bender looks down into the glass contemplating the red wine.

There is no honor in avoiding it. "Aang, I'm.."

Aang cuts him off. "It's okay, Zuko. I forgive you." The rest of his apology dies on his lips. Aang gives a long sigh. "Things haven't been going well for some time." The quiet admission hangs in the air. "I don't think either one of us understood what being the Avatar would mean." He drags a tired, tattooed hand over his forehead. "I'm not making her happy. I'm certainly not a good husband." He stares into the bottom of his glass. "Maybe a worse father."

Zuko can only stare at his friend, a sudden sympathy welling up inside of him. "Aang, I didn't know."

The thought that his friends have been suffering for so long and he has only added to the trouble sits uncomfortably in his chest.

"I thought it would be okay at some point. That everything would just fall into place and we would be happy." Aang doesn't meet his eyes while he speaks but Zuko finds his focus riveted on the man before him.

Glinting metal behind the chair draws Zuko's attention upward as Azula steps up from the shadows, wry smile on her face as she stares down at the back of the Avatar's head. Those cold gold eyes meet his and she tilts her head in a smirk.

"How did you know about us?" His mouth is dry and his voice rasps with the question.

A shadow of something settles over Aang's face, taking the warmth from his gray eyes and leaving only cold stone behind. Zuko can see the indecision as the other man weighs whether to answer or not. "A bird with gold wings and copper scales showed me in a vision. I saw everything."

Unwittingly Zuko's eyes dart up to his sister's face where it hovers just behind the Avatar. Shadows of something ethereal and large shimmer behind her arched high, fluttering slightly, golden feathers ruffle wide and her skin shines like copper in the firelight. He realizes with a start just what Azula is showing him. Her eyes glitter in triumph as she slowly fades into the shadows.

Ooo

"Did you ever wonder why Father called himself the Phoenix King when it was the Dragon Throne he sat upon?" The deep notes of Azula's voice draws Zuko out of a light sleep. She lies beside him, head nestled on his pillow. Strands of dark hair lay fanned on the silk sheets between them. "A Phoenix is immortal, eternal." Pink shell lips twist into a smirk as cold eyes stare up at the bed's canopy. "There was nothing immortal or eternal about Ozai." Azula clicks her tongue. "Just painfully….human." Her lips wrap around the word in disgust. The air chills a few degrees more. "Dull, unimaginative."

The bed doesn't move as she rolls to her side closer to him where he lies on his stomach. "Perhaps he embodied the Dragon more; all that fire and fury." She pauses to smirk again. "Well, fury at least." Ozai's fires have been banked and extinguished by the Avatar's touch. "A dragon without a flame; what a waste. Maybe Father wasn't really a dragon at all."

These are words Zuko has heard before. A Fire Lord stripped of his fire is no king. Despite the Avatar's power, many traditionalists thought it a sign of weakness that Ozai's bending could be taken.

"Now, you brother, are truly worthy of the Dragon Throne." The whispers of silk are all Zuko hears as Azula gracefully slides up and straddles his back. Locks of hair block his view as she leans forward lying against him. "Better than Father, or Azulon. More worthy than even Sozin." Zuko's breath stutters in his chest as Azula's cold lips graze the ruined shell of his ear. "But a Phoenix you will never be."

Turning his head, Zuko buries his face into the pillow and draws a shuddering breath willing his blood to calm. With a soft laugh the weight lifts from his back with the rustle of feathers and Zuko is alone once again. When he is sure she is gone, he rises from his bed and dresses in the dark.

Oooo

Zuko has only spent a handful of hours in the library often preferring the training ground to the books.

Tonight he tears through the ancient tomes not caring if the pages crease or rip. It's the color plates he seeks. The attention to detail is exquisite and he can feel the brush strokes as he runs the tip of his finger over the page. The golden wings of the bird are mantled and flared wide as if it were in flight. The tail feathers trail behind it, lush and long. Its body is covered in tiny copper scales that glint in the torchlight. The eyes flash like jewels the color of the sun. The raised letters embossed at the bottom of the page simply read "The Phoenix."

"It hardly does justice." Azula muses from the other side of the table. Zuko doesn't spare her a glance. "Not as if any of the sages had chance to ever lay their eyes on such a creature. It was all story and speculation."

"It's beautiful." His voice is hoarse with the late hour, golden eyes flicker up to eye the creature before him. "You're beautiful." He adds, feeling his stomach clench.

He is rewarded with a smirk and tilt of her head. "Flattery will get you nowhere, Fire Lord."

Zuko straightens up from the table, casting another glance at the picture below him. "What are you?"

She sighs as she steps around the table to stand at his side. "You think you have it all figured out. Enlighten me."

He feels rooted to the spot but casts a glare to his side. "You aren't human. You aren't Azula."

The creature laughs and a clawed nail tips his chin to face her. "Brother, are you trying to hurt my feelings?"

There is a deep warning in her eyes. A vague thought of birds of prey toying with their food nags at him.

"Please, what happened to my sister?" It aches deep inside to think that all along his sister has still been lost to him. There has been no connection or chance at redemption. His familial love has only been exploited by this being.

"I am fine, Zuko, better than ever." She steps closer at his answering scowl and turns him in her arms wrapping them about his waist. Her lips press against the flesh of his neck as a chilling cold envelopes the both of them. "I was in the Spirit World but I couldn't stay there. It was nothing but pain and suffering. I couldn't stand to be apart from you. I needed you." Her lips mark trails over his throat as she pleads. "You complete me, Zuko. It's always been you."

Her scent is intoxicating and her murmured words against his skin send shivers through his body. A voice in Zuko's head screams that this is wrong. These feelings are wrong. Azula is wrong. Everything is wrong. With a growl he pushes her away.

Azula doesn't stumble away from him but gracefully steps back, the air about her swirling dangerously through the room. In his mind he imagines wings spread wide keeping her balanced. Her eyes flash dark.

"I, like you, are a child of Agni. We have a destiny to fulfill. The Fire Nation will rule this world and it is up to us to make sure it does. Quit letting the narrow minded thinking of these humans stop you." She hisses through sharp teeth.

Zuko glares at her. "I am human."

Azula laughs. "Dragons aren't human, Zuko. It's only an illusion."

Her words are incomprehensible and he stumbles back from her. He knows he is in too deep. "Aang…Aang will know what to do." He turns towards the library doors.

"There are things far older and darker than the Avatar in the Spirit World, Brother." Azula warns. "There are dark edges that even he won't dare go."

Zuko's hands find the door and pull at the handle. He can't resist looking back at her once he is the hall.

Her eyes glow with unholy light and flames flare at her feet. "You can't escape destiny, my dragon. We will watch the world burn. Together."

The room flares in a brilliant burst of white fire and he slams the door shut to avoid the heat. Through the crack underneath the door the light shines brightly and the heat emanates through the wood. Slowly he retreats staring at the sight. Suddenly the light and heat are gone.

It's several minutes before he steps closer to the door. A tentative touch reveals a cool handle and he pushes it open cautiously. The library is just as it was before and not a mark to show otherwise. Carefully he approaches the book left open on the table. The color plate of the Phoenix stares up at him nearly mocking in its beauty.

The halls of the palace are empty at this late hour. Zuko is thankful no one witnesses his rush to the Avatar's suite. Drawing closer to the door he hesitates at the raised voices on the other side. It has been rare in his life that he has heard Aang yell and hearing it now makes him thankful. Katara's voice raises several octaves in reply and splashing water can be heard. Muttered curses tell Zuko she hit her mark but Aang doesn't strike back. There is only a low growl then silence. Zuko backs away when he hears Katara burst into tears.

ooo

Days pass before the Avatar surfaces again. His youthful features are drawn and weary. Zuko can only eye him with concern.

"Katara's leaving." He says tiredly and without preamble.

Zuko is cautious. "Is that good?"

Aang's eyes are distant. "She's returning to the temple."

Relief washes through Zuko . "That is good."

Aang's face says otherwise. "She's taking the kids and going to Hakoda's."

The unspoken meaning hits hard. "Aang if this is because of what happened.."

The Avatar holds up his hand. "It's not. Please don't think that. Things haven't been good for some time."

A sense of awkwardness creeps between them.

"If there is anything you need, just ask."

For the first time since joining him, Aang meets his eyes. "I would like to stay here if you don't mind. I can't go back to the temple, not yet at least."

Despite the quiet calm laced with desperation, the words cause unease in Zuko. He can't deny his friend though, not after all that has happened.

"Of course, Aang. Stay as long as you need."

ooo

The balcony is the same one Sozin once stood upon as he watched Roku's home island erupt under a volcano. Over the years, Aang has filled him in on just what transpired that night between the Fire Lord and the Avatar. It leaves a sour taste in Zuko's mouth. Still he stands leaning against it, fingers gripping the stone. The moon is full and shining on the sea. He doesn't react when Azula steps up next to him.

"What choice did Sozin have?" She muses, eyes staring at the sleeping but still active volcano. "Roku would have only tried to stop him."

It has been days since Zuko has seen her. He thought she would show for sure the night Katara left to at least mock him but he was painfully alone.

"He could have not let his friend die." He seethes quietly, throwing a glare at her form.

Azula responds with a hum. "The bonds of friendship are fleeting at best. Hatred, now that is something you can count on." Zuko doesn't reply to her cynical statement. Instead he focuses on the great expanse of dark water stretching to the horizon. "You feel guilt." Zuko turns his head at her quiet interjection. "Guilt is pointless."

It seems they are going to talk about it. "You told Aang about Katara and me."

Azula sniffs in disdain. "I said nothing. I merely let him see."

Zuko grits his teeth as he glares up at the moon. "Why?"

From the corner of his eye he sees her turn towards him. "You really must ask? Surely the Fire Lord is smarter than this." He scowls in reply. Briefly Azula hesitates before growling. "She was never meant to mother the Air Nation."

The comment takes him off guard. "What..what do you mean?"

"That peasant has yet to bear an Air Bender; two children and none a child of Air. Doesn't that seem odd?" Azula's eyes glint.

Zuko shakes his head. "Bending isn't a guarantee."

Azula rolls her eyes looking back out to the dormant volcano. "Why do you think Ursa was chosen for Father?"

Zuko scrambles to catch up with her words. "She was Roku's granddaughter, but she couldn't bend."

Azula shakes her head, holding back laughter. "It was in her blood, Dum Dum. He's the Avatar." The way she says the title tells him that is her answer. "Honestly, he couldn't have anything but Air Benders but the Spirits didn't see fit to grant that."

Zuko shifts uncomfortably. "Why?"

"Because she was never meant for him. She was never meant to be the mother to his children or to mother a race." Azula quiets letting the words wash over him. "However, she is not completely useless. She will after all help our little problem of succession."

The words punch like a fist. "What?"

Azula sighs. "She doesn't know it yet but soon enough she will realize she has a little memento of her night in the Fire Lord's bed." Panic takes over and he feels his blood freeze. "She will bear you a daughter, Zuko, a powerful Fire Bender truly worthy of our line." He sinks to the floor, feeling unable to breathe. Azula sinks with him, taking hold of his face firmly and raising his eyes to hers. "We must be sure she has an empire to rule, Brother. Agni demands it."

Roughly he pushes her hands off him and stumbles to stand. Failing, he falls back away from the apparition. He sinks his head into his hands trying to make sense of things.

"You're brooding. Kings don't brood."

"Maybe I'm not a king." He snaps defiantly up at her, panic getting the better of him.

"If for one moment I thought that were true then I would kill you."

"If I really am the son of Agni, then you can't." He sneers at her, feeling every bit a petulant child.

Azula breathes in and somehow appears larger. "There's my dragon." She purrs at him gently wrapping her hands over his.

His bravado fades and his voice softens to a whisper. "You aren't a ghost. You aren't real."

She gives him a strange look and takes his hand in hers. She lifts it up and looks at him under her lashes. With her other hand she draws a sharp line across his wrist with her nail, slicing through the skin. He tamps down the urge to pull away at the burn.

"The pain is real, is it not?" Dumbly he nods. Her smirk turns mischievous as she dips her head, pink tongue slipping out to catch the rivulets of blood. In an instant the skin is smooth and clean. Holding up his newly healed skin, she murmurs. "I am as real as you."

He feels disconnected from reality. "I buried Azula myself. You aren't her."

"You buried a body. You didn't bury a soul."

"Phoenix" Zuko breathes the name, "That's what you are."

The creature's stare is weighted. "That is one name." She cocks her head, turning away in a considering fashion. "Some call me that. I am also known as Feng-Huang or Hō-ō." A bright smile graces her face as she pins him with her stare. "You may call me Azula."

Anger surges through Zuko's veins as he jerks his hand free of her grasp as he stands. "You are not my sister!" He can feel the fire simmering under his skin seeking release, flames lick at his tongue. "Stop saying you are!"

He is met with unimpressed golden eyes, as she stands too. "Roar at me all you want, my dragon, but sooner or later you will realize I only tell you the truth." The words are silky and smooth. They wrap around him tempering his frustration.

"What truth is that?" He bites out quietly, averting his eyes to the ground beneath him, not quite trusting his own voice. His shoulders sag in defeat.

Azula sidles up to his side, pressing the metallic scales of her dress against him, cold skin poaching his heat. "Things are not all that they seem, Zuko. Your life as you know it has all been a lie." Her arms wrap around his neck pulling him down to her. He doesn't resist. "You will reach greatness but only with me at your side. You know this to be true." She whispers the words into his hair, holding him against her chest. His arms circle her waist as if on their own accord. "Let go of these narrow minded ideas of these humans, spread your wings, and soar with me."

Zuko feels himself letting go.

Ooo

Zuko thinks he should tell Aang. Aang is his friend. Aang is the Avatar. He knows about these things. But every time they train, or eat, or just sit in silence, he finds he can't speak the words. For days the two men say little of importance to each other. Silence is golden.

Not all can be said for others in his social circle.

"You really botched this one up, Sparky." Toph snarks from her sprawl on his couch. "I mean I always knew you were weird and awkward but I didn't know you were that hard up for some company. Doesn't this place come with ladies of the night?"

Zuko only glares in response and Toph continues undeterred. "I mean Aang is taking it well. It's almost eerie."It is almost eerie. The outward calm the Avatar has shown has been surprising. "I mean it's hardly fair. You dip your ink in the wrong jar and you get sunshine and roses. I have to listen to Sokka whining and moaning the whole trip here." Zuko only pinches the bridge of his nose, trying to ward off the lingering headache he generally has dealing with the Earth Bender, when Toph drops her bomb."You know Aang asked Katara for a divorce right?"

"What?"

She smiles. "I knew you were listening. Yeah, he asked and she agreed. Hakoda's taking care of the details now."

Suddenly, Zuko feels awake."When was this?"

Toph frowns. "Her last night here, Sparky. Where were you?"

Enlightenment hits: the raised voices, the angry curses, Katara's swift exit. "Aang never said."

"Did you even ask?" Toph retorts, as if already knowing the truth.

He didn't, of course he didn't. Aang had only said she was going to Hakoda's but never said how it was his own desire.

"Why didn't he tell me?" Zuko asks, a bit of anger seeping into his voice.

Toph snorts, flicking a piece of mud off her dress onto the silk covered table between them. "I get the idea there's a lot Aang isn't telling."

This sets him off and suddenly he is a man on a mission. He ignores courtiers and lords begging for audience as he tears through the palace halls. Rounding a corner, he is stopped suddenly by a tanned fist to the face. He deftly dodges the next one.

"Sokka, stop!" Toph yells, bending the floor to trap Sokka's feet.

The water tribe man is fuming as he struggles to free himself. "Let me go, Toph!"

"This is why I locked you up to begin with." She shouts back. Zuko stares at her over the hand covering his nose and she shrugs. "I wanted to talk to you first so I locked him in a closet."

"Just what is there to talk about!" Sokka yells in frustration as he pulls at the stone surrounding his feet. "He slept with my sister!"

"Yeah, yeah."Toph replies airily. "Like Sweetness didn't have any part in it."

Sokka growls in frustration. "Just let me go, Toph."

"So you can go try to sucker punch Twinkletoes too?"

He huffs. "No, so I can politely ask him what the hell he thinks he's doing divorcing my baby sister!"

Zuko glares at the crowd that has gathered at a respectable distance to watch the commotion. "This is not the place to talk about this."

Toph only smirks. "Not until he promises to behave."

The labored sigh Sokka gives tells Zuko this is not a new argument between the two. "I promise to behave."

"You're lying."Toph snorts as the ground shifts freeing his feet. "But don't expect me to keep Aang from crushing you like a bug."

Ooo

Aang doesn't crush Sokka like a bug and for that Zuko is immensely thankful. Sokka manages to come to his senses and just sets about yelling. Aang for his part remains calm and detached as if he weren't really here being faced with an angry brother.

At a distance, Zuko and Toph watch.

"They've been having problems for awhile now." Toph's voice is barely above a whisper. "Sokka never went into detail but I got the feeling that even before Bumi was born there were issues."

Uneasily, Zuko shifts his weight against the stonewall the two lean against in the courtyard. "Aang won't say much." He offers, keeping up his part of the conversation.

The Earth Bender snorts again. "Yeah, cause you were always the one he confided in."

It's a strike that hits home. Aang and he have never been really close. There was so much animosity between them for so long that it was awkward at best when they were finally on the same side. After the war everyone went their separate ways and it was easy to lose touch.

"You mean he didn't tell you anything?" Aang and Toph had always had a certain bond.

She shrugs, toeing at the dirt. "It's been busy."

Zuko makes a point to not look at her too closely, instead focusing on a riled up Sokka.

"I don't get what happened." He has been trying to figure out what went wrong and is coming up empty.

Toph sighs. "Not all marriages can survive an affair." Zuko clenches his eyes shut as his head drops to his chest. He opens his mouth to reply but Toph stops him cold."I just never thought Aang would cheat on Katara."

Oooo

Nighttime finds Zuko overlooking the ocean. He toes a pebble over the edge watching it fall down the sheer cliff face.

"Aren't you a brave king?" Azula mocks as she steps into view beside him. He doesn't reply to her jab. "This cliff is known for its suicides." He feels her eyes slide over him. "Surely you aren't thinking of ending it all?" Zuko glares daggers at her. With a shrug, Azula steps up to the very edge of the cliff, tips of her toes dangling over the precipice carelessly. Zuko's fingers itch with the urge to pull her back and he nearly does until her voice drops to a mournful tone. "I stood here the day you were banished." The admission stills his heart. "I watched until your ship disappeared over the horizon." Azula turns her head towards him in profile. "I waited for you, Zuko."

Zuko's mouth is dry and his voice rasps in protest of being used. "Why?"

Her head drops, to consider the sharp drop below her. "Ursa was gone. Uncle was gone. You were gone. Only Father was left." A flood of understanding rushes through his veins and she turns to face him, still dangling over the cliff's edge in an eerie way. "You can't imagine what he was like."

Zuko has heard murmurings amongst the servants and the nobility of Azula's time under Ozai's rule. Many are too polite to speak of it in his presence but he can't always ignore the curious looks cast his way as if Ozai's proclivities were his own.

"I think I can." The burned side of his face heats under her gaze.

Just as quick she breaks her stare, casting sad eyes out over the ocean. "You killed me." Her words are quiet and nearly lost to the waves crashing against the rocks below.

"It was an accident!" He never meant to kill her. He had only been trying to deflect the bolt of lightning. It was a shot of pure luck and misfortune and it has haunted him ever since.

Azula ignores his denial. "You killed me but you let him live." Her voice turns harsh with accusation and while she does not ask it, he knows what she seeks. It's not the circumstances of her death that upset Azula. It's that Zuko didn't dole out the same fate to Ozai.

There is little reason to hide the truth from her. "He knows what happened to Mother."

Since the day of his coronation, Zuko has questioned Ozai about the whereabouts of Ursa but to no avail. The fallen king refuses to speak.

Azula's back stiffens with the admission and she turns to glare at him. "It's always Mother with you. That's all you care about."

"She was your mother too. Don't you care what happened to her? Don't you want to know?"

The air turns bitter around them as she invades his space. "No, she left us, Zuko. She left us with that monster!"

Zuko doesn't back down but leans forward closing the distance, meeting Azula eye to eye. "He made her leave, Azula, and I have every intention of finding out what happened to her and bringing her home where she belongs."

The shift in the energy around them is subtle and Azula's eyes take on the same unholy light they did the night in the library. "You really mean it." Her voice is tinged with awe and she tilts her head as if shifting to get a better view of him. Her eyes bore into his as if searching for something and once she finds it she nods slowly. "Then my dragon shall have it."

With that she disappears.

By the time Zuko makes it to the prison, chaos has descended. Ozai's screams echo through the stone halls. The warden looks suitably distressed as he follows in Zuko's wake. Inside his father's cell, the flickering torchlight burns a bright blue. Behind the bars, Ozai writhes on the floor, clothing hanging in threads. Warily, Zuko approaches. He can only make out a few words over the anguished screams echoing off the damp stone walls. Ozai's eyes lock upon him, burning an intense yellow.

"Hira'a!" Ozai's voice screams hoarsely even as the skin on his forearm burns with deep blue fire. "She's in Hira'a!" He ends the last syllable with a scream as the skin blackens and falls off. "Please, no more!" A spot on his chest begins to simmer with the same blue flame and Zuko sees the shape of long fingers pressed into the flesh. "I never found her! They said she'd run off into the jungle!" It's more than Zuko has ever managed to hear in all his years of questioning the fallen king. "No one knew what happened to her! Please! Stop!" His please become more frantic.

Zuko kneels next to the iron bars, watching as Ozai thrashes on the dirty floor, skin sloughing off in burnt sheets. The smell is sharp and acrid. With a final burst of strength, his father reaches forward grasping the iron bars and pulling himself to look up at him, eyes bloodshot and pleading.

"Azula, that's enough." Zuko's words are soft but firm to the unseen specter wreaking havoc.

The fire creeping over the deposed Fire Lord's skin fades, leaving only charred flesh behind. The warden and guards shift nervously in the cell, wary of what they can't see.

Ozai speaks, voice wrecked with pain. "You said she was dead! You said Azula was dead!" Tears streak over the melted skin of his face as he looks up at his son desperate for understanding. One blackened hand reaches through the bars trying to grasp at him.

Zuko stands and steps back out of his reach. "Yes, I did. I killed Azula myself." Turning away he swiftly leaves the room, despite Ozai's call for him to return.

Oooo

The barren walls of the infirmary are meant to convey healing and peace. Zuko finds them maddening as he sits perched forward in his seat, elbows on his legs, head in his hands.

"You didn't have to do that!" he whispers harshly to the creature that refuses to appear. "You didn't have to torture him!" He looks around in frustration, hoping Azula has finally deigned to show. When he sees nothing but the same mocking walls, he mutters a curse and drops his head back into his hands.

The quiet click of a door snaps him out of his sulk. Aang's face is drawn. Dark circles show under his eyes betraying just how tired the Avatar is. He sits in the chair opposite Zuko leaning forward mirroring the Fire Lord's position.

"I did what I could." He says regretfully. "but it wasn't enough."

Zuko expected as much. "Thank you." Aang nods in acknowledgement. "How long do you think he has?"

The Avatar shakes his head. "If you have anything you want to say to him, you should say it now."

Zuko presses his lips together in a frown. "What do you say to the man that single handedly made sure your life was a living hell?"

Aang meets him with an even stare. "That you forgive him."

The idea of forgiveness twists at something inside Zuko. "I don't. I hate him. I'm not sorry this happened and I won't be sorry when he's dead." Zuko's outburst gains strength and malice. "He ruined everything good in my life. He took my mother away. He took my face away. He even took my sister away! Do you even know what he did to Azula? What he put her through?"

Aang's eyes widen at this, telling Zuko he has revealed too much. Angrily, Zuko bites his tongue looking away. When he feels his anger fade, he continues. "Ozai ruined almost every aspect of my life. I can't forgive him for that. I'm not you."

The last word comes out soft and regretful. Aang has been forgiving of so many trespasses against him. The loss of his people, his home, his life, and now his wife and family. Katara is not something they have really discussed but Zuko knows soon she will have to be if Azula is telling the truth about their one night together.

"Aang, about Katara…"

"I know." Aang replies simply. "Just promise me that you will be a better husband and a better father than I was."

Zuko feels every bit of anger melt from his body and he only stares at his friend in surprise. "How do you know? She's not even told me yet."

Gray eyes lock onto his as if waiting for him to put the pieces together.

Oooo

"You killed him." Zuko mutters sullenly to the shadows of his chambers. Said shadows remain silent as they have for hours since he left his father's side. "It was pointless. Mother wasn't there." His best trackers had searched the village Hira'a to no avail.

The room remains still, mocking in its peacefulness. It is such a contrast from the hours before when the final breaths rattled in Ozai's chest, burnt lungs struggling for air. He had held on for days after Azula's attack. Aang had done all he could to keep him comfortable but could do nothing to save the dying flesh. In the end, Zuko had forced himself to stand vigil at his father's bedside, watching the uneven rise and fall of his sire's chest.

"Damn it, Azula." He mutters into the fist resting against his chin.

"Be honest with yourself, Zuzu: you aren't angry he's dead, you're angry I killed him before you could."

Zuko lets out a breath of steam. "He didn't know anything!" His last link to his Mother is lost.

Azula hums quietly as she stealthily emerges from the shadows before him. "Exactly. He knew nothing and was therefore useless to us."

Zuko closes his eyes in frustration. Quietly, she clicks her tongue as she steps towards him. The cold touch of her hands on his thighs forces him to look at her. Soundlessly, she drops to her knees between his spread legs. Zuko draws back in alarm.

"It's only us, Zuko." She purrs in a low voice, leaning forward, hands sliding farther up his legs until she is nearly lying in his lap.

Behind her he can see the gentle wisps of wings trailing to the sides. If they had corporeal form, they would be spanning the whole floor around them. Zuko swallows hard as Azula's head rises in his line of sight, eyes crystal, pupils slitted.

"I'm all you need."

She leans forward, the chill of her breath icy on his lips. Movement to the side jerks his eyes away from the reptilian stare to the shimmering expanse of feathers arching around the chair closing him in. He watches as the feathers take form, blocking out the faint light of the torches and the heat from the fireplace. Azula's stare is unwavering as she watches him take in the massive wingspan wrapped around him. There is something hauntingly comforting being so cocooned. Once again his eyes are drawn to hers.

Lifting one hand, he traces the sharp cheekbones with his fingertips, The skin is soft but cold. As his fingers slide into her hair, her eyes flutter close at the sensation and she hums in approval. Zuko's other hand slides around the long column of neck, fingers locking around the back, pulling her forward. Azula's eyes open at the movement.

He knows his sister. Azula has always been manipulative and controlling. The creature before him is no different. She's been stringing him along from the beginning. Playing at her offers of help when in reality, Azula was never an altruist. It was always about her. Zuko hasn't needed her help, not dealing with Katara, Aang, or even Ozai. It's all been a way to manipulate him.

Zuko isn't the one in need.

Zuko is Agni's child as well and, for once, the weight of knowledge settles comfortably on his shoulders."You're the one that needs me, Sister." He whispers against her cold lips. He feels her smile in response just before he closes the little distance between them.

Ooo

Zuko wakes alone. The large bed feels vacuous and empty. The sheets are cold, even though the edges are burnt. The final vestiges of a dream about the dragons, Ran and Shaw, niggles at the back of his mind. He feels more himself than he has in ages.

Rising from bed, he washes quickly. In the mirror, he catches sight of the long red marks down his back. The cuts are deep and even. Dried blood flakes off with the swipe of a cloth but is quickly replaced with fresh. They won't be the first scars to mar his back and something in Zuko doubts they will be the last. Azula is intent on leaving her mark.

The servants of the palace are always busy and Zuko finds evidence of their comings and goings in his sitting room. The tea remains untouched as he turns his attention to the scrolls awaiting his attention. The blue wax seal of the Southern Water Tribe stands out and Zuko quickly breaks the seal and reads.

ooo

Unsurprisingly, Aang is meditating. Seated in the lotus position, the Avatar's tattoos glow with blue light. Something in Zuko has always been in awe of this display of the other man's power. Knowing patience is a virtue, he mimics the pose and sits opposite his friend, and waits. Eventually the glow fades and the eyes blink gray again. Aang has an otherworldly way of staring as if he sees your very essence. Perhaps he does being the spiritual being he is and all.

"Sifu Hotman." The words are playful but the expression on Aang's face is not.

Wordlessly, Zuko hands him the scroll from Hakoda. The Air Bender scans the words quickly before meeting the Fire Lord's gaze over the parchment and raising an eye in question.

"I thought you would want to know in case you didn't want to be here when they arrived." Zuko explains resisting the urge to snap at his friend. He shouldn't have to explain it. Aang already seems to know more than he lets on.

"I appreciate that." Aang offers as he sets the scroll between them. "I have no ill will towards Katara. I want her to be happy."

"You do realize what this will look like?" Zuko feels his palms start to sweat when he thinks about the political ramifications of marrying the Avatar's ex wife…that is if Katara will have him. Marriage will be needed to legitimize the heir. Angrily, Zuko cuts off the thought that sounds suspiciously like Azula.

"Exactly like what it is." Aang responds patiently, unaware of his friends distraction. "What upsets you more: that I'm not angry about it or that others might think bad of you for having an affair with my wife and fathering a child?"

Zuko frowns. "Both, I guess."

Aang lets out a long suffering sigh. "Zuko, I'm not angry. I really do want what is best for Katara and for the children." He pauses. "That includes this one and any other children the two of you have together." Standing up, Aang stretches. "As for the world thinking bad about you, so what? This isn't any of their business. Katara, you and I know that you aren't the bad guy here."

When Aang turns away to pick at the plate of food on a small table, Zuko sees the faint red lines down his back running parallel to the broken blue line of his tattoo. The cuts on his own back burn at the sight of the older, healing injuries on the other man's back.

"Who was it?" Aang looks at him questioningly so Zuko clarifies. "That you had an affair with."

For a moment, Aang's eyes narrow at him. "Toph?"

Zuko gives a curt nod, revealing his source.

The Avatar's jaw clenches. "It's not important."

"Does Katara know?" Zuko demands, feeling put off by his friend's reluctance.

"No, she never asked and I never told her. It doesn't matter."

"Then how did she know?" Zuko is on his feet now, feeling indignant on Katara's behalf.

The air between them thrums with energy and Aang lets out a long breath, telling Zuko he's biting back harsh words. "Zuko, you have to understand that I have lived a thousand lives. I don't exist in just this world. It's complicated." Something about that statement deflates Zuko's anger and it shows in the drop of his chin. "Look, Zuko, Katara and I are fine. I promise you that."

Zuko feel lost at sea. He's floundering. This game with Azula is changing all the rules of his life.

Aang's voice snaps him out of his feeling of loss. "You and I know that this isn't about Katara, not really."

Zuko's eyes go wide as he meets the steady gaze of his friend. "Then what's it about?" He asks cautiously.

Aang gives him that all knowing Avatar look. "That this is just a case of circumstances, not choice."

Zuko feels heady and light. "How do I know it isn't?" He's always been second, whether it was Ozai choosing favorite children, Katara finding her first love, or Azula picking her next bit of prey.

"You don't." Aang answers matter-of-factly. "All you can do is to decide whom and what you trust to be true."

Feeling defeated, Zuko casts his gaze over the horizon, watching as the sun steadily climbs higher into the sky. Aang's hand on his shoulder draws his attention back. "Zuko, it's going to be okay."

The Fire Lord nods his head, feeling a twist of jealousy in his stomach.

Ooo

The funeral is uneventful; small, practical with only the Fire Sages in attendance. Once the flames have died and the ashes collected and interred, the Fire Lord and General Iroh take their leave of the Temple of Agni. They are almost to the doors where the palanquin awaits when the Head Fire Sage catches up to them.

"Fire Lord Zuko! Please a moment!"

All Zuko wants to do is get as far away from his father as he can. "I don't have time for this." He growls quickening his pace, Iroh in tow.

The echoing sound of the man's footsteps ring off the stone walls as the man is undeterred in his pursuit of them.

"Please! It's about Princess Azula!"

The name stops them cold. Zuko turns with a scowl on his face. "What?"

The man is breathless as he catches up to them. "Please, Fire Lord Zuko, it has been years." He huffs between words. "I know your feelings towards your sister but it is wrong for you to continue to deny her funeral rites." Zuko sees Iroh's curious look out of the corner of his eye. "It's blasphemy!" The Sage adds.

"Zuko?"

Zuko grits his teeth in response to his Uncle's question and glares the Fire Sage down. "When I am ready to cremate my sister, then I will. Do not think to instruct me of how to conduct the affairs of my family."

He turns, stalking away from the stunned man and does not stop even as he steps into the sunlight.

Iroh is soon at his side, hand on his arm, gently pulling him to face him. "You haven't buried Azula." He states in his gravelly tone even though a question lurks beneath.

Zuko snaps. "I couldn't!" The outburst causes Iroh's eyes to widen. "I saw her burn once. I can't watch her burn again." He grasps for words. "She was my sister and I killed her." The guilt rolls from his gut, heating his face. "I just can't." His words are a plea to his last remaining fragment of family to understand.

Iroh does understand; only too well, more so than Zuko does. "Zuko, if you don't lay her to rest, then her spirit never finds peace. You are damning her."

The words cut. Could Azula's otherworldly presence be his fault as well? Did he truly damn her to a preternatural existence?

His face must betray his thoughts .Iroh's voice softens and his heavy hand comes to rest on Zuko's shoulder.

"I am sure she is at rest but regardless a proper burial is the honorable course of action, Fire Lord Zuko." Iroh states in his sagely tone. "It is time to finish this."

Sometimes Uncle doesn't know just how wise he really is.

ooo

Azula's haunting has a comforting disquiet to it. His rooms are her favorite domain. The wide floor space allows her to move freely and stretch her wings both figuratively and literally. Tonight is no different. Every move is fluid. Slowly it dawns on Zuko just what he is seeing.

"Where did you learn that?"

Azula turns with a smirk. "Death has been very educational, Zuzu." She effortlessly slips back into the form but no flames flare at her fists. The Dancing Dragon is a kata rarely mentioned. Aside from Zuko, Aang, and Iroh, only the Sun Warriors know of its existence.

As she continues the motions, she speaks. "The dragons miss you, Zuko. They often ask about you."

The mention of Ran and Shaw sends a chill down his spine even though the silk sheets of his bed surround him. "How do you know them?"

Her eyes glint in the shadows of his room. "All energies are connected. Surely you have picked that much up so far."

The twisting lips tell him there is another lesson to be learned. She spins on her heel and walks out the doors to the balcony. Once there she gives a slow roll of her shoulders and wisps of copper trail down her back. The effect is hypnotic and before Zuko knows what he is doing he is out of bed and crossing the room. He pauses at the door to watch the wisps gain form, sharp edges glint in the moonlight as long feathers trail behind her. The great wings spread blocking the horizon of the ocean beyond so he can only see glittering copper and gold.

"They wait for you to join them." Her voice rings clear as if there wasn't a wall of mythical feathers between them. "It is rude to make them wait."

Cautiously he steps forward, hands out, and fingers eager to feel. The wings don't move when his fingers brush against them. They are soft but cold. He can feel the feathers heat from his touch as if they were feeding from his chi. Azula cocks her head to the side, peering at him through slitted eyes.

"They aren't made of glass." She mocks lightly. "Go on." He feels the wing arch against his hand in response.

Steeling himself he buries his fingers into the primaries and drags his hands down them. The farther down the sharper they become. Their very essence seems to change from feather to metal. Lifting his hands back up, he strokes over the arch of the wings and feels the solid weight of muscle holding them in place.

"Can you fly?" He hates how rough his voice sounds.

Azula's head has dropped to her chest with a sigh. "Of course, Zuzu." She purrs at the sensation of being petted. "What good would they be otherwise?"

Feeling bolder he steps closer, stretching his arms out to span the top of the wings. His fingertips fall several feet short of the tips. The wings fold down and she looks at him over the top. She is waiting for him to piece it all together.

He steps back, arms dropping to his sides. As always with Azula, he feels at a loss. Quickly she turns. Zuko's reflexes are fast but Azula has always been faster. He can't avoid the massive wings arching towards him. The shift in the air is instant as the wall of feathers becomes nothing at all and passes right through him. It cuts like ice and he recoils away from it.

But Azula doesn't let him get far and soon she has him pinned against a pillar, eyes glowing bright. Her hands cup his face, cooing softly to him as the chills rack his body. Behind her the wings arch back as if she were about to take flight.

"Fight it, my dragon." She whispers against his ear. The scar of his face burns against her touch as she nuzzles her cheek to his. "You can't keep living this lie. You must join me." The words turn vicious with her order.

Gasping against the drowning chill sweeping through him, he clutches at her. The sharp scales of her metallic dress cut into his palms and he feels himself sliding down the stone pillar. Azula follows him to the ground, unapologetic about the pain he is in.

"Don't give into this human weakness. Ozai made that mistake." She warns sharply. The air is tight in Zuko's chest and the sight of Azula looming over him begins to fade into black."I will have what is mine with or without you, Brother. Do not stand in my way."

As the darkness wraps around him, the meaning of her words clicks into place.

Ooo

Zuko snaps awake. The air is heavy and he struggles to breathe it in. His eyes are closed and refuse to open. Voices are muffled around him but he thinks he can pick out Katara.

"What's been going on?" Her voice is demanding and sharp. It drops to a hushed tone. "Did you do this?" He can tell she is off to his right, leaning over the bed.

"How can you think that?" Aang snaps to his left. "He is my friend."

"I was your friend too." The accusation hangs heavy between them and part of Zuko cringes.

"Katara, I am not discussing this, not here and not now."

He hears the heavy breathing and instantly knows Katara is doing all she can to restrain herself. "His chi is all messed up. No one but you can do that." The words are spoken low. Zuko has known Katara for years and only once has he heard it so laced with fear.

"Katara, I promise you, I have done nothing to Zuko. I'm not angry about what happened. He and I have talked about it and we are fine."

The soft gentle tone seems to deflate some of Katara's worries. "Then why won't he wake up?" Warm hands stroke his cheek and he feels the bed shift as she sits on it. "I don't understand what happened to him then."

Another hand touches his forehead. He can tell from the heat that it is Aang. "He's going to be okay."

A sniffle sounds over him. "This isn't natural. What could have done this?" He can tell Katara is getting herself worked up. "What if this was an assassination attempt?" It wouldn't be the first time assassins have gotten close to him. Zuko doubts it will be the last. "Aang, what if he dies?"

The air in the room moves and Zuko knows from experience that it is Aang reacting with one of his hugs. The shift of Katara's weight away from him shows she doesn't fight it.

"Hey, don't think like that." He says softly. "Zuko's strong. He will come out of this." Zuko manages to open one eye. Seeing Katara's head buried in Aang's chest is nothing new but now it brings about such conflicting feelings."This is just pregnancy hormones getting the better of you."

Katara draws a breath that turns into a sob and she nods against him. "I'm sorry I thought you did this." Her voice is muffled against the Air Nation robes.

Aang closes his eyes and drops his chin on top of her head. "I wouldn't do anything to hurt your happiness, not anymore." The words seem to mollify the Water Bender and she sighs letting go of another sob. "Remember that time when you were pregnant with Kya?"

Katara lets out a laugh. "Poor Sokka!"

Zuko feels like an outsider looking in. This is the happy couple he always envied. It's the happy couple that is no more.

Aang lifts her head and looks down at her. "You need to rest and eat right. We can't let the Fire Nation heir starve now can we?"

The reality seems to wash over them both. Katara offers a sad smile. "Aang, I love you."

The Avatar kisses her on the forehead and pulls her against him for another hug. "I love you too." Over the top of her head, Aang's gaze meets his. There is a sharp warning lying in the depths of the Avatar's eyes but at this point Zuko doesn't know if it is about the woman in his arms or the creature hunting them both.

Ooooo

Zuko has always found Iroh's voice to be comforting. When he was banished, sometimes it was all that held him together. His uncle's soft gentle voice was always so full of wisdom. Zuko didn't always appreciate the words themselves but he did hold tight to the sentiment behind them. Outside of Mother, Iroh was the only one to show him true love.

For days Zuko has floated in and out of consciousness. The result of Azula's attack has been a chi running wild and unpredictable. His limbs ache. His head pounds. More than once he has heard the crackling of fire and he knows it is him setting things aflame without meaning too.

Now the old Prince's voice speaks from his bedside, reading from an aged tome. The story is one his mother used to read to him when he was little. It's a complicated tale of love and betrayal and somehow so fitting to his present situation.

"Uncle," His voice is rough with days of disuse.

Iroh visibly brightens at the sound. "Zuko, how are you feeling?"

"Rough."

Iroh looks pensive at the short response. "You are ill. A matter of your chi being misdirected. What happened?"

Zuko breaks eye contact and looks instead to the canopy of his bed. Azula's wing passed through him. The ice had cut right through to his very core. It had been a test. Zuko isn't sure if he failed or passed.

He decides to ask Azula's question to the only other man that could answer. "Why did Ozai call himself the Phoenix King when he sat on the Dragon Throne?"

Iroh's eyes widen and he sits back in his chair at Zuko's bedside. He can see the wheels turning in the older man's mind. Iroh is wise and knowledgeable perhaps more than anyone alive, save the Avatar, and Zuko is not asking Aang about his mythical sister. He has a feeling that it will not be a pleasant conversation and he will find out far more about what Azula has been up to since her death than he truly wants to know. Maybe he doesn't want confirmation that Katara is not the only woman to warm both their beds. That unpleasant sense of jealousy takes seat in his stomach again.

For his part, Iroh watches the flit of emotions in his nephew's eyes. Zuko was never good at hiding his feelings but Iroh always seemed to see more than the normal person would. Perhaps it was because Iroh was a father looking for a son and Zuko was a son in need of a father.

"My brother always had a flair for the dramatic." Iroh says thoughtfully. "The Phoenix represents death and rebirth. It is Yin. The Dragon is power and authority. It is Yang. The two together represent the perfect union. I imagine Ozai felt it would symbolize a new era for the Fire Nation and the world."

Zuko resists pointing out that Ozai's new era would have involved death and destruction of any who opposed him.

He settles for mumbling. "He wasn't a dragon." Dragons are fierce, powerful. They were full of wisdom and fire. Ozai possessed none of that.

Iroh considers this. "Nor was he a Phoenix."

Ozai was not Azula. Ozai was not Zuko.

"He was nothing." Zuko says with a sense of finality. The man that has haunted his childhood was nothing more than an illusion. With that thought, Zuko feels the anger at his father melting away.

Oooo

It's the eve of the anniversary of the war's end. Preparations are underway for the celebration of the Avatar's triumph over the Phoenix king and Zuko's Agni Kai against Azula. Every year he is filled with dread. For the rest of the world it is a win but Zuko can only feel failure. It's this night that he thinks about the little sister he lost the most.

Tonight though, Zuko is alone. He has been isolated in his chambers, still healing from Azula's attack. Katara has visited: shyly at first but growing bolder. More often than not she sleeps in Zuko's bed but is always gone before first light. They don't speak about what the future holds, not yet. Katara seemed to sense his mood and made her excuses to stay in her own chambers tonight. Hakoda's disapproving glances are becoming more weighted with each morning the Water Bender spends in the Fire Bender's bed.

Zuko sleeps fitfully. Since the attack, he can't find comfort. His shoulder blades ache and the skin feels hot and tender to the touch. Katara and Aang can only speculate that his chi is still misfiring under his skin and is choosing that point to accumulate. Zuko has his own suspicions but he keeps them to himself. It would be best to not reveal his mental breakdown to the mother of his child just yet.

When dreams do come to him, they are filled with images of the war. Azula's cackle rips through him as she taunts him about his worthlessness. It jerks Zuko out of his sleep. Beyond the window to the east, he sees the sky lit up a curious blazing red. It's not until he crosses to the floor that he sees it for what it is.

Sozin's comet. It is there, blazing high in the sky, ripping through the clouds and bathing the earth in an all too familiar crimson. From this window, he can see the courtyard where he and all the Fire Lords before him were crowned, including Azula. A wave of blue flame meets a wall of red and his stomach clenches at what he is seeing. In the distance he can hear Azula's mocking taunts and his answering insults. He sees the spark of lightning rip into the air before being directed at its target. It's a moment Zuko has relieved a thousand times over since it happened. Without another thought he bolts for the exit.

When he arrives, the grounds are silent. Sozin's comet still blazes overhead but the small black figure lying on the ground is the only thing holding his attention. His feet stagger and his vision swims as he draws closer. Falling to his knees, Zuko cradles Azula's still warm lifeless body. The smell of burnt flesh is acrid in his lungs. He feels the horror and grief of her death as strongly now as he did all those years ago.

Why drag him back to the worst moment in his life?

He clings tighter to the body in his arms. Everything Zuko has ever had has been taken from him. All he ever wanted was a loving family. The only other person in his life that could have understood what being a child of Ozai was like is gone and he is the one that took her away.

"It was a lucky shot." The specter muses. Zuko glares up in response, clutching his sister to him like a lifeline. It only serves to amuse the being and she arches an eyebrow to mock."Too soon?"

A sob catches in his chest and his gaze drops to the stunned expression etched on the corpse's face. "What do you want from me?" His voice is just barely a whisper.

Azula kneels in front of him, wings spreading to lay flat on the ground, glowing eyes sweeping over her dead form. His mind tries to wrap around the dissonance of Azula lying dead in his arms but beside him full of life.

"I want you to choose, Zuko." He meets her stare. "Choose eternity, immortality. Choose your destiny. You were meant to soar with me." Another wall of grief rises up in him and he chokes it back. "You and I have always been. We will always be. But you must choose." He knows what she speaks of: the eternal cycle of reincarnation and rebirth. "It has always been us. Together." Gently she cups his jaw, thumb stroking over the scarred edges. The skin burns at her touch.

"Where does Aang fit into all of this?"

She smirks. "The Avatar is mine." Her hand tightens on his face. "As are you."

Angrily he jerks away from her, still clinging to the rapidly cooling body in his arms. "If I had cremated you, would this be happening?"

Azula stands, wings trailing behind her. "A Phoenix dies by fire and is reborn by fire. This is something you knew deep down but you choose to not release me. You have kept me bound to you, Zuko. You couldn't let go."

He couldn't. He can't. Gently he lays the body on the ground between them and stands.

"Katara?"

"She has her part to play."

Zuko feels somewhat satisfied by that. "What do I do?"

Azula smirks pleased at his response. "Admit you need me."

"I don't." He doesn't. Azula hasn't been the one to give him what he has. She didn't bless him with a crown, home, friends and now a family. This has all been a game to her. She needs him.

She scowls in response before taking a step forward."Foolish king, all that you have is because of me. I give and I can take."

Zuko resists the urge to retreat but instead stands his ground, glaring daggers at her. "I earned it. It was mine for the taking." A strong feeling washes over him and the ache in his back grows stronger. He wants to roar fire in her face.

Azula only arches an eyebrow. "Pity. All you had to do was release me."

"Release you?" He snarls. He grabs her arms, fingers digging into the protesting metal scales of the dress, and shakes her.

Like always, Azula is unaffected by his anger. "You keep me bound to you. Locked in that tomb. All you have to do is let me go, Zuko!"

Her words are like a cold slap of ice. "Let you go?"

She shakes of his hands and glares. "Let me go. Set me free. I have been trapped for years. You deny me a proper burial! You gave him one! Why not me?"

Letting go of Ozai was easier than letting go of Azula.

"You're my sister." Zuko mumbles uncertainly.

Azula's eyes narrow. "And you are my brother."

He looks away from her. His eyes land on the blackened corpse lying discarded on the battlefield.

"Set me free or lose all you have." Her voice drips with malice.

Sharply he looks back at her, glaring. "Don't threaten me."

Something settles in her eyes and the air chills. "It's not a threat, Fire Lord." Turning slightly she looks back at the palace behind them. The sounds of screams rip through the night air. "I take what is mine."

Katara.

Zuko feels icy fear gripping his heart as he runs. Azula's cackle follows him every step of the way.

Finding Katara's room is easy especially since everyone is there. The hall is crowded with various palace people vying for a vantage point. Zuko barrels through them into the inner chamber. Toph stands outside, blank eyes pinched with concern. Inside he can hear Sokka having a meltdown and Aang striving to reassure. In the midst of it all he sees Katara kneeling on the floor, folded over herself crying. Her hands are wrapped tightly around her stomach and when she looks up at him he sees the fear there.

"She's miscarrying." Aang answers quietly from beside her. Katara's head drops and another scream rips through her lips.

Zuko drops to his knees and she latches onto him, sobbing. He feels the tears sting his own eyes and clenches them shut.

Oooo

Katara is resting after Aang pulled some Avatar trick with a touch to her forehead. Zuko doesn't think he wants to know what else the man is capable of. He only eyes the man warily as he drops into the other chair in the room.

"They might be okay." Aang answers tiredly at Zuko's unspoken question. "She's bleeding but it's slowed."

Zuko knows the other man poured all the healing energy he could into saving the life of mother and child. "Thank you." The words seem inadequate but Aang only nods slightly, eyes closed.

Zuko feels his own wave of exhaustion wash through him. For months he hasn't slept, not really.

"How do you do it? " He chooses his words carefully.

Aang doesn't respond and Zuko thinks he has fallen asleep sitting up in the chair.

"It's not easy." Aang replies quietly, not opening his eyes."Humans are demanding enough. Spirits are something else entirely."

They have never talked about it. Often Zuko had to wonder just how much Aang knew about Azula.

"I didn't know it was her. I didn't know it was your sister." Aang supplies, finally opening his eyes.

"Would it have made a difference?" Zuko asks wryly. He knows the appeal Azula had in life. In death she has become something altogether different.

"Probably not." Aang gives a small laugh. "I told you I have lived a thousand lives. I'm not entirely human."

Every so often the Avatar spirit emerges. It is something awesome, holy, and terrifying.

Zuko nods. "Are any of us?" He remembers Azula's words.

Aang smiles in response. "You would be surprised. I have the benefit of being looked for from life to life. Once they find me, they urge me to find that part of myself that is buried. Not all spiritual creatures get that."

Zuko bobs his head in agreement again. He can only imagine how useful guidance would have been; the number of tragedies that could have been avoided. "What do I do about Azula?"

"She will only keep going until she gets what she wants." Aang answers simply.

"She wants me to let her go."

Aang weighs this information. "Why haven't you?"

Zuko meets his stare evenly. "I didn't want to."

The Avatar picks up on the wording. "And now?"

Azula has shown she is willing to go to any lengths to get what she wants. Threatening Katara and the baby were proof of that.

"Now I have to choose."

For once in Zuko's life, the choice is clear.

Oooo

Azula's crypt is cold and dark. It befits the sister that has overshadowed him in life and now in death. Briefly, Zuko thinks he can hear her harsh laughter. Aang is uncharacteristically silent but the steel gray tells him that the Avatar is no less on edge than he.

"I couldn't see her burn again." He explains. Watching her die on the battlefield had been enough.

"It wouldn't have made a difference." Aang explains.

Aang hesitates, not meeting his eyes. "Then you marry Katara and build a future."

Zuko has known the Avatar long enough to know when he is avoiding. "What about Azula?"

Aang draws a deep breath before facing him. The man's gray eyes are deep and solemn."Leave Azula to me."

Zuko balks at the command. "She's my sister!"

He has always felt responsible for her, now even more so.

"Was your sister. This is not just Azula anymore. Death has made her into something more."Aang's features harden. "And she won't stop. She will have what she wants. You know what lengths she would go to."

Azula has always been persistent, driven. Not even death has stopped her.

Zuko's mouth goes dry. "What will you do?" He has known the Avatar enough to know what the sudden lack of eye contact means."Aang?"

With a resigned sigh, gray eyes meet his again. "I'll give her what she wants."

Azula's lust for power and perfection has always been a dominating force in her life.

"You can't!"

"I will."

Zuko glares at his sometimes-friend, sometimes-rival. "You think you will appease her? It's just the start. She won't be stopped, Aang. You said it yourself."

The look of acquiescence on the other man's face stops Zuko's rant. "Then when she's done with me, you better be ready."

Zuko's shoulders feel heavy. His back aches. The sensation of fire teeming under the surface of the skin irritates him. He nods slowly.

Aang gives his own grim nod, relief that at last Zuko knows his place. Reverently he runs his hand over the cold stone slab of Azula's tomb. "Are you ready?"

Zuko looks down at the unassuming rock. This moment is about to change everything. Whatever course their lives were on before will be irrevocably altered. "Do it."

With a quick motion, a tomb that was sealed what seems like a lifetime ago is opened and the room erupts in blue fire.

Oooo

Fire Bending requires a certain tolerance for heat but the flames roaring from inside Azula's tomb are too much. Both men recoil from the heat shielding their faces. After what seems to be an eternity the flames flicker out, plunging the crypt into darkness again. Cautiously, Zuko and Aang draw closer to the vault where it stands raised on the platform centered in the middle of the room. Internally, Zuko steels himself for the sight of his sister's burnt corpse. It's the moment he has avoided for years.

From his side, Zuko peers over the edge, ignoring the flame kissed stone and smoky ash. A flash of copper greets him and a solid crunch of wing connects to his face knocking him backward against the stone wall. He looks up in time to see Aang being knocked back by the other. His vision swims and he sinks to the floor. The sound of nails scraping against stone forces him to focus.

Azula rises from the grave. Copper and gold wings are spread behind her arching wide. The metallic dress he has grown so used to seeing her in scrapes along the stone as she slides out of the coffin and her heels connect with the floor. The smirk that has been an ever present feature on her lips is firmly in place as she stalks closer to him.

"Brave king." Azula purrs as she drops to his level. The wings are spread wide, nearly filling the small room. "You finally made your choice." Her too warm hands grasp his chin forcing him to look at her. The familiar gold of her eyes has an alien quality to it. Her wings fold closing them in. The heat flaring from her is suddenly suffocating. In death Azula had been freezing, in life she is sweltering. "Too long." She whispers, leaning closer until their noses are nearly touching. "Do you even know what it has been like being _imprisoned_ in that tomb?" Her eyes start to glow. "It's cold, dark; everything that a child of Agni should never have to suffer! And you sentenced me to it!" Her nails dig into his skin, drawing blood. Zuko gasps and pulls at the nails digging into his flesh. The air becomes hot and heavy. "You feel that? That ache? The fire burning under your skin, searing your soul. That's your true self trying to escape. Let it out my dragon or perhaps I should tear out those pretty wings myself."

"Azula." The voice of a thousand lifetimes echoes in the small room.

Azula does not relinquish her grasp on Zuko but turns to eye the glowing white eyes now staring her down. "Magnificent isn't he? Now you see why I couldn't resist." The admiration in her voice is sultry and thick. "I had to have him."

At this the glow fades and Aang glares.

Azula straightens her shoulders and her eyes take on a different light. "Avatar." Zuko gasps as she surrenders the hold she has on him and turns to face Aang. "I told you that I would find my way, with or without your help."

Aang nods solemnly. "That you did." His eyes flicker down to Zuko from where he lies partially shielded by Azula's wings. "You have your freedom now. What will you do with it?"

"Finish what I started. The world will be mine." Her voice drops a few octaves as she closes the distance between them.

Aang watches her approach warily. "I can't let you do that."

Azula stops with just inches between them as her wings wrap around Aang, copper and gold feathers blending with yellow and orange robes. "You won't stop me but you are welcome to try."

Shakily, Zuko stands and watches as Azula's nail traces the edge of the Air Bender's jaw. The ache between his shoulders grows stronger.

Roughly, Aang grabs Azula's wrist and a storm flashes in his eyes as his voice takes on an eerie tone. "You will not pull the world out of balance again."

Azula laughs before leaning forward to grasp the back of Aang's neck with her other hand and pulling him forward. "I imagine I won't be alone in this. I have many allies."

Aang growls at the hand holding him. "So do I."

Deftly she turns not relinquishing the hold on the Avatar as she faces Zuko. "The dragons? Whose side do you think they will choose?"

Zuko wars between the gray and gold facing him, waiting for an answer. He pushes himself to stand. He can only shake his head.

Azula's lips drop to Aang's ear as she pushes him down. "Some ally or were you thinking Ran and Shaw would rally to your cause?"

"They helped to defeat Ozai." Aang grits between his teeth, straining against the stronger Azula.

She rolls her eyes. "Please, birds of a feather flock together and all that. They won't take your side." Azula's eyes flicker to Zuko. "As I imagine other winged creatures won't either."

With a firm push, Azula pushes Aang to his knees. The sharp edges of her wings wrap around him. Zuko knows what damage those wings can do.

"Azula," Zuko finds his tongue. The ambition for power is strong and Zuko is not immune to its effects. However, there are other ways. "Not like this."

Azula hisses through sharp teeth. "Careful, fledging. You don't want to lose those little wings before they've come in."

Zuko stands his ground staring her down. He feels the lightning arcing under his skin. "When the time is right, Azula, then we shall see."

She smirks. "You've always been blind, Brother. Now more so than ever."

The weight on his shoulders is becoming unbearable, the burn too much. Zuko struggles to stand tall. The Phoenix and the Dragon: symbols of a perfect union; yin, yang, push, pull, two halves of a whole.

"For the first time in my life, I do finally see the truth. You need me just like I need you. You can't do this alone and I won't help you tear the world apart."

Azula releases her hold on Aang, standing tall, wings flaring wide. "You are young still, Dragon. Give it a few centuries and then we shall see." Aang pushes himself to stand and turns to glare at the winged creature. "Oh, don't pout. It's so unbecoming." She admonishes. "Besides," She reaches out a clawed nail to tip his chin. "You and I will have so much fun while we wait for Zuko to get his wings on."

Blue tattoos flare white and Aang's voice warns her lowly. "Azula."

She laughs. "Please, as if Raava would let you." Azula steps in closer, wrapping her arms around his neck, wings wrapping around his body. "Besides, just think of the possibilities. An Air Nation fused with the power of the Fire Nation, rising from the ashes of the past. We will make something great, Avatar."

Zuko sees the moment of capitulation as Aang's lips meet Azula's. "Mmmm, very good." Azula praises with a sly smile. Suddenly she steps away, wings pulling back behind her. "This room is stifling. I've spent an eternity trapped in here. I prefer somewhere more…sunny. It's time to spread my wings." She casts a pointed look at Zuko. "When you are done playing these human games, come find us. I have much to teach you, Brother dear."

The sound of feathers rustle and Azula is gone.

For a moment, neither man turn from the empty spot.

"Aang?"

His name snaps the Avatar to action. "She's right."

"You can't be serious?"

"I'm very serious." Aang snaps, glaring at him with stormy eyes. "We each have a destiny to fulfill. You aren't ready for this."

"And you are?" Zuko challenges.

Aang shakes his head sadly. "You still don't get it. She's right. About all of it."

Zuko is at a loss. "What do I do?"

"I think you know." Aang answers quietly. "I have a Phoenix to find. Tell Katara and the kids that I'm sorry." He turns to leave out the crypt entrance and Zuko doesn't stop him.

Ooooo

The sound of children laughing fills the Fire Lord's private courtyard. Kya's water whips are deflected by Bumi's boomerang. Princess Izumi coos in her mother's arms as Katara bounces her after nursing. The atmosphere is quiet and content and everything he has longed for.

"Papa!" Kya pouts up at him, still chubby cheeks red with the heat. "Bumi won't play fair!"

"She's using magic water!" Bumi protests from his perch atop a tree.

Katara giggles as she cuddles the baby closer.

It should be frightening how easily the children have acclimated to their father's disappearance and accepted Zuko in his place.

He kneels in front of the grumpy child. "I've seen your mother create a wave of water as tall as the palace. No matter how high he climbs, Bumi can't escape that."

Kya's blue eyes light up and she throws her arms around his neck, hugging him close before scampering off to pull at the small pond.

Zuko sits back down beside his wife who smiles warmly at him. "You're so good with them."

It's a sentiment that she has mentioned before but it still makes him shift uncomfortably. Aang is dealing with Azula, somewhere in one world or another. He should be here instead. Azula is Zuko's problem.

News of the Avatar is scant. News of the Phoenix more so.

"He knew what he was doing." Katara's warm hand grasps his own.

Absently Zuko covers it with his other. "She's my sister."

"She's whatever to him." Katara shrugs. The Avatar's affair has become something the Water Bender has glossed over. "We haven't seen the last of him."

It remains unspoken that they haven't seen the last of Azula as well. The fire still teems between his shoulders and Zuko knows why.

"I'm hungry." Katara announces as she stands handing Izumi over.

The baby cuddles against her father's chest nuzzling the soft fuzz of her hair against his neck. Kya and Bumi have made it to the far end of the courtyard where they continue their mock battle. Reverently Zuko runs his hand over the soft back of his daughter as he contemplates Azula's words. When the baby begins to fuss he stands gently bouncing her in his arms. Large golden eyes stare up at him. He can see the weight of knowledge in them and he knows Azula's words held truth. His daughter will be truly great. She will follow in the footsteps of her ancestors and lead the Fire Nation into a new era.

Zuko closes his eyes and feels the fire burning in his veins…soon it will be time.


End file.
